Falls contractor gets 5 to 10 years for scamming clients

Marc Haworth's first fraud conviction landed him on probation. This time, he's off to state prison.

By James O'Malley jomalley@couriertimes.com @omalley_news

A Falls contractor with a history of fraud will serve up to 10 years in state prison for scamming customers.

Marc Haworth, 42, was sentenced Friday in Bucks County Court to five to 10 years behind bars followed by 25 years probation, according to court records.

Judge James M. McMaster ordered Haworth to pay $191,404 restitution for scamming a number of clients in Churchville, Langhorne, Wrightstown and Levittown. Haworth pleaded guilty in October to 30 counts, including deceptive business practices, insurance fraud and theft by deception, admitting he accepted payment for home improvement work he never actually did.

Christopher Neuman, a Falls man who hired Haworth to do landscaping work at his home, said Haworth laughed in his face when he sought a refund for the never-completed labor. Neuman in June won a $5,000 judgment against Haworth in small claims court, but Neuman says he expects he never actually will see any of the money he is owed.

“For my losing $5,000, it was more than worth it to see the look on his face today,” Neuman said.

Haworth reportedly was teary-eyed in court, apparently surprised at his lengthy prison sentence.

In 2005, when Haworth was last in court for ripping off customers, the man received a sentence of probation and an order to pay restitution after pleading guilty to fraud charges.

Detectives say he lied about the conviction when registering his business years later.

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